What this converter does
This converter turns megawatts into kilowatts and back instantly. One megawatt is exactly 1,000 kilowatts, so it is a clean decimal shift — useful for reading plant ratings, grid figures and generator outputs. Type a value and read the result as you type.
It also covers watts and gigawatts on the same scale. For horsepower, see the kW to HP converter.
The units it covers
Every unit here is real power on the same metric scale, so each converts through the kilowatt with a fixed factor.
View all units & their values
| Unit | Symbol | Value | Mainly used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Megawatt | MW | 1000 | Power plants, grid, large plant |
| Kilowatt | kW | 1 | Motors, generators, buildings |
| Gigawatt | GW | 1,000,000 | National grid, fleets |
| Watt | W | 0.001 | Appliances, small loads |
The formula
Each unit has a fixed value in kilowatts, so converting is a single multiplication or division:
result = value × factor_from ÷ factor_toWhere:
- value = the number you typed
- factor_from = the “from” unit’s value in kW
- factor_to = the “to” unit’s value in kW
Worked example
Convert 2.5 MW to kilowatts.
1 MW = 1,000 kW2.5 × 1,000 = 2,500 kWSo a 2.5 MW plant is rated at 2,500 kilowatts.
The units in this example
One million watts, or one thousand kilowatts. Used for power-plant capacity, grid loads and large industrial plant.
- 1 MW = 1,000 kW
- 1 MW = 1,000,000 W
- 1 MW = 0.001 GW
- 1 MW ≈ 1,341 hp
One thousand watts — the everyday unit for motors, generators and building loads.
- 1 kW = 0.001 MW
- 1 kW = 1,000 W
- 1 kW ≈ 1.341 hp
- 1,000 kW = 1 MW